Cleaning machine



Sept. 22, 1970 N. L. PELLERIN 3,529,450

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Pa Lem/v ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,529,450 CLEANING MACHINENorvin L. Pellerin, 17 Warbler Drive, New Orleans, La. 70124 Filed Oct.7, 1968, Ser. No. 765,438 Int. Cl. D06f 37/08, 37/10 US. Cl. 68143 26Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An end-loading cleaning machinecomprising a cylinder axially divided into two compartments and mountedto rotate about a horizontal axis within a housing. =Each compartment isprovided with a door at at least one end and the housing is providedwith corresponding doors. Each door subtends about one third of thecircumference of the cylinder, and the doors are so arranged that eachcylinder door at a given end can be aligned with either housing door, atthat end, or a pair of cylinder doors at one end can be aligned with thecorresponding pair of housing doors. Means are provided for ensuringexact alignment of the cylinder and housing doors in any of thesepositions.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an end-loadingwashing machine, or washer-extractor, which is exceptionally easy toload and unload, and especially adapted to permit automated loading.

Such machines conventionally comprise an inner cylinder mounted torotate about a horizontal axis in an outer housing. Because of thevibration problem presented when the load is unevenly distributed in therotating cylinder, this cylinder is ordinarily divided axially into atleast two compartments, which are individually loaded with equal weightsof clothing, thus reducing the maximum possible imbalance.

In the case of such two-compartment washers, at least one end of thecylinder is ordinarily provided with two doors and the housing end isprovided with one or two corresponding doors, which are opened with thepartition dividing the compartments in a horizontal position. Thisarrangement permits the doors to be as large as possible, since eachdoor in the cylinder may occupy nearly half of the end of the cylinder,and the housing doors are of corresponding size. It also permits thecylinder doors to swing outwardly about axes closely paralleling thepartition so that when a door occupying the upper half of the housing isopened and the partition is horizontal, the cylinder door will form aloading platform covering the space between the cylinder and housing, sothat no clothing will drop or be caught between the cylinder and housingas the machine is being loaded or unloaded.

Unfortunately, this also means that the clothing must be pushed orpulled over a rather large horizontal sur face into and out ofrelatively inaccessible corners in the compartments, and automatedloading and unloading is impractical.

Attempts have been made to overcome this problem by devising sideloading machines which are loaded through doors in the cylindrical wallsof the cylinder and housing, but these are difficult to keep tightlyclosed because of the centrifugal force exerted on the door when thecylinder is being rotated.

I have accordingly devised a machine in which the cylinder is dividedinto two compartments, each provided with an end door subtending aboutone third of the periphery of the cylinder, and the housing is providedwith two corresponding doors, each having one side adjacent the upperhalf of a vertical line bisecting the housing end.

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The housing doors are mounted to swing outwardly about vertical axesparallel to said bisecting line.

When the cylinder is being loaded, the partition is vertical, all doorsare open, and the Clothing drops into each compartment after beingpushed through the door, since there is then no horizontal partition tosupport it.

When the cylinder is being unloaded, the partition is brought intoalignment with the lower edge of one housing door. That housing door,and the cylinder door registering therewith, are then opened, and sincethe partition is in a sloping position, the clothing in that compartmenttends to slide down into a position facilitating its removal.

The doors are then closed and the cylinder rotated until the othercompartment door registers with the other housing door, and the processrepeated.

In order to faciiltate the exact registration of housing and cylinderdoors, an electrical spotting system may be provided.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now 'be described, withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view showing one end of the housing of atwo-compartment, horizontal-axis end-loading washing machine accordingto the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view showing the correspond ing end of therotatable cylinder which turns in the housing shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an oblique elevational view showing the machine with bothhousing doors and both cylinder doors open, i.e., in loading position.

FIG. 4 is an oblique elevational view showing one unloading positionwith one cylinder door and one housing door open;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the machine, showing a loadingchute associated therewith;

FIG. 6 is a vertical axial section taken through the cam and photocellassembly which generates the signals for the spotting circuit;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the angular positions occupied by the lampsand registering photocells;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the alignment of the cam and the housingdoors with the cylinder doors in unload right position;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing the electrical circuits of thespotting system;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the position of a door on the clean,or unloading side of a pass-through machine, when ready for unloading;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing the position of a door on the dirtyor loading side of the same machine, positioned for loading;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing the angular positions of thephotocells in said pass-through machine; and

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing the essential novel elements of acontrol circuit for such a machine.

As seen in FIGS. 1 to 4 my machine comprises a housing 10 in which aperforate cylinder 11 is mounted to rotate about a horizonal axis 12.The cylinder is divided into two compartments 13 and 14 by a partition15. These compartments are provided with sectional doors A and B, thesections A and B of which are mounted to swing about axes 16 and 17parallel to and adjacent the partition 15. Sections A and B are mountedto swing about axes 18 and 19, and Sections A and B about axes 20 and21, respectively. Sections A A B and B are locked closed by bolts 22 ina conventional manner, and sections A A B B slightly overlap sections AB to hold the latter sections in place.

The housing 10 is provided with doors C and D which swing about verticalhinges 24, 25 respectively, and may be locked in a conventional manner.

It will be seen that each door subtends a little less than one-third ofthe periphery of a circle registering with the periphery of thecylinderin this specific embodiment, 108.

Turning now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that, for loading purposes, thecylinder is brought to a position in which the partition 15 is vertical,and all doors are opened. The first clothing dropped on the shelf formedby the door sections A B and slid into the cylinder will fall into thelower part of each compartment so that more can easily be added. Thereis then no need to push the clothes back over a horizontal surfacewithin the cylinder so that conventional chutes for automatic loadingmay be used, as shown at 26 in FIG. 5. Such chutes are mounted to swingabout a horizontal axis toward and away from the machine so that theymay be swung away during unloading.

Turning now to FIG. 4, it will be seen that, for unloading, the cylinder11 is positioned with the partition 15 in alignment with the lower edgeof one of the doors C, D in the housing. When, as shown in FIG. 4, thedoor B is aligned with the left hand door C, the cylinder is broughtinto that position by rotating it clockwise, so that the clothes arebunched in the lower part of the compartment 14, opposite the door.After removal of the clothing, the doors are closed and the cylinderrotated counterclockwise until the door A on the cylinder is broughtinto alignment with the door D on the housing. The partition 15 willthen slope the other way, and the clothes will be bunched at the lowerend of compartment 13 for easy removal.

It will be readily apparent that, in a machine of this type, in whichthe rotable cylinder or basket must be stopped exactly and at will inany one of three different positions, some automatic means for producingthis result is highly desirable.

Less readily apparent is the fact that, in order to properly bunch theclothes at the particular end of the compartment which is to be unloadedwhich will be lowermust when that compartment is spotted for unloading,it is desirable to insure that the basket complete at least the greaterpart of a full revolution in a direction away from the end at which theclothing is to be bunched, before it is stopped.

My invention accordingly comprises, in combination with a machine havingits doors positioned as hereinbefore described, a spotting systempermitting the compartment doors to be automatically spotted in any ofthe three desired positions, while ensuring that, when spotted forunloading, the clothes in the compartment to be unloaded will beproperly bunched at the lower end of that compartment.

Turning now to FIG. 8, it will be seen that representa tive apparatusfor this purpose comprises a circular cam 31 mounted to rotate with thedrive shaft 12 of the machine. A 108 sector is cut out of this cam, oneof the resulting radial edges E being aligned with the diametralpartition in the basket and extending downwardly and to the right whenthe edge E is vertical in the 12 oclock position. Obviously, the firstedge E is the leading edge when the basket is rotating counterclockwiseand the trailing edge when the basket is rotating clockwise. Conversely,edge E is the leading edge when the basket is rotating clockwise and thetrailing edge when it is turning counterclockwise.

FIG. 7 shows the location of four photocells P1, P2, P3, P4 positionedabout the periphery of a stationary disk 32 parallel to the cam. Thesephotocells, when illuminated, close certain circuits which will behereinafter described in detail. On the opposite side of the cam is aregistering stationary disk 33 (FIG. 6) provided with 4 lamps, G1, G2,G3, G4, each lamp being aligned with one of said photocells, andpositioned to illuminate that photocell whenever the lamp is lit and thecam is so positioned that its open sector is between the lamp andphotocell.

A shield 34 is positioned between the lamps and the cam and providedwith narrow radial slots registering with the lamps so as to narrowlylimit the beam directed toward each photocell, and insure accuratespotting.

It will be appreciated that many conventional commercialwasher-extractors are provided with several motors, and the controlsnecessary to permit said motors to drive the basket in either directionat least two different speeds, and to start and stop the basket. Thecircuitry necessary to accomplish these results is consequentlyconventional and will not be described here. FIG. 9, does however showwhat may be added to such conventional circuitry to enable it to carryout the additional functions set forth above.

Let it be considered, therefore, that a washer-extractor is equippedwith at least one relatively high speed motor, one normal speed motor,and means for shifting from one to another in accordance with therequirements of a given cycle.

Shown at 35 in FIG. 9 is the solenoid controlling the application of anauxiliary brake forming part of such a conventional system, and thecontrol means M3 and M4 which, when energized, cause the normal speedmotor to be driven counterclockwise and clockwise respectively. Thesecontrols are alternately energized during the washing cycle in aconventional manner by a cam actuated switch 25, forming no part of theinvention, which is shown merely because the controls for the normalspeed motor are used in my novel circuit. The controls for the highspeed motor, on the other hand, are not shown, since this motor is notused during spotting. FIG. 9 shows instead the controls M2 and M5 for athird slow inch motor which, when energized, cause that motor to bedriven counterclockwise and clockwise respectively.

The point at which the basket will be spotted is determined by theposition of a spot-selector (not shown) which comprises a dial havingfive peripheral indicia, e.g., A, B, C, D, E, and a pointer which may berotated so as to point to any one of these indicia.

The pointer is fixed to a shaft carrying five ganged selector switches,CCW, CW, PO, LE and LA, each having five corresponding contacts A, B, C,D, E, with which the movable arms of these switches are brought intocontact when the spot-selector is set to A, B, C, D and E respectively.

Terminals B and C of selector switch CCW and A and D of selector switchCW are connected through the common point R, to R, a point which isconnected to one terminal of either the CCW control M2 for the slow inchmotor or the CCW control M3 for the normal speed motor, depending on theposition of the switch SIR4 forming part of the relay SIR, which will behereinafter described. Terminal D of selector switch CCW and terminalsB, C and E of CW are connected through common point S to S, a pointwhich is connected to one terminal of the CW control M4 for the normalspeed motor, or to one terminal of the CW control M5 for the slow inchmotor, depending on the position of the switch SIRZ which also formspart of the relay SIR.

The center terminal POC of selector switch PO is connected to thecontrol electrode of a triac POT; the center terminal LEC of selectorswitch LE is connected to the control electrode of a triac LET, and thecenter terminal LAC of selector switch LA is connected to the controlelectrode of triac LAT.

The output terminal of LET is connected in series with the solenoid oflead relay LER; the output of LAT in series with the solenoid of lagrelay LAR, and the output of POT in series with the solenoid of positionrotation relay POR.

The contact B of switch PO, and the contacts C and D of LE, areconnected to the inputs of LET, LAT and POT through a circuit controlledby photocell P2; the contacts C and D of PO, the contact B of LE, andthe contact C of switch LA, are connected to the inputs of LET, LAT andPOT through a circuit controlled by photocell P1.

The contact B of LA is connected to the inputs of LET, LAT and POTthrough a circuit controlled by photocell P3 and the contact D ofselector switch LA is connected to the inputs of LET, LAT and POTthrough a circuit controlled by photocell P4.

Triacs LET, LAT and POT are semi-conductors which act as gates, in themanner of thyratrons, passing current to energize LER, LAR and PORrespectively when a circuit through the control terminal of thecorresponding triac, a selector switch, and a photocell is completed.Obviously, these triacs could be replaced by thyratrons, or equivalentgating means.

The circuit also includes a clutch control 36 which, when in oneposition, connects the slow speed motor to drive the cylinder, and whenin the other position connects the normal (wash speed motor) to drivethe cylinder.

The operation of the clutch, brake and motors is controlled by the threerelays LER, LAR, and POR, the switches of which are shown distributedabout the circuit diagram to facilitate illustration of the electricalcircuit, but it will of course be appreciated that each switchhereinafter described as a component of a given relay is so associatedwith the solenoid of that relay (indicated by LER, LAR, and POR on thedrawing) as to be opened and closed by energization and de-energizationof that solenoid.

Considering first the lead relay LER, this controls only two sets ofcontacts LER-1 and LER-2. Contacts LERl are normally closed andpositioned between Q and the center terminal of CW. Contacts LERZ arenormally open and positioned between Q and the center terminal of CCW.When LER is energized, contacts LER-21 are closed and contacts LERl areopened. LER is thus essentially a solenoid controlled single-pole,double throw switch.

The relay LAR comprises two sets of contacts, LAR-1, which are normallyclosed, between Q and the center terminal of CCW, and LAR-2, normallyopen, between one side L2 of the supply line and the slow inch relaySIR, which will be hereinafter described. When the solenoid of LAR isenergized contacts LAR-1 are opened and contacts LAR-2 are closed.

The relay POR controls the following sets of contacts:

POR-1, normally closed, connecting the line Q-CCW to the line Q-CW;

POR-2, normally open, between Q and CCW;

POR-3, normally open, between L2 and the slow inch relay SIR;

POR4, and L2 The slow inch relay SIR comprises a solenoid connected inseries with contacts POR-3 and contacts LAR-2 betwen the mains L1 andL2, and controls the following sets of contacts:

SIR-1, normally open, the closure of which actuates the clutch control36;

SIR-2, normally closed, connecting common point S to normal speed CWcontrol M4;

SIR-3, normally open, connecting common point S to slow speed CW controlM5;

SIR-4, normally closed, connecting common point R to normal speed CCWcontrol M3;

SIR5, normally open, between common point R and slow speed CCW controlM2; and

SIR-6, normally open, in series with auxiliary brake 35.

The operation of the electrical circuit will now be described, assumingthat the machine is rotating clockwise, and it is desired to bring it toa stop in a position such that the left-hand door can be opened forunloading.

The ganged selector switches are first set to position B.

In the course of rotation, once the Stop button has has been pressed toopen contacts 50 thus cutting out the high speed motor and the reversingcam 25, and the normally open, between the solenoid of POR contacts 58,59 have been closed to light up the lamps G1, G2, G3, G4, the leadingedge E2 of the opening in the cam 31 will pass between the photocell P1and the lamp G1 opposite that photocell, so that the photocell becomesconductive, closing a circuit from terminal B of selctor LEC throughphotocell P1 and transistor LET so that the solenoid of relay LER isactuated. Contacts LER-1 open, and contacts LER-2 close, but sincecontacts POR1 are still closed and POR-2 open, switch CW, and thecontrol for the normal speed motor are still connected for CW operationthrough S, S' and the normally closed contacts SIR-2 of the slow inchrelay.

The leading edge of the opening in the cam 31 will then pass betweenphotocell P2 and the corresponding lamp, so that P2 becomes conductive,closing a circuit from terminal B of selector PO through photocell P2and transistor POT, so that the solenoid of relay POR is energized. Thiscloses contacts POR2, while opening POR-1. (This would complete acircuit betwen L1 and L2 through Q, contacts LER-2, POR-2, and LAR-1,switch CCW, R, R and contacts SIR-4 to the control M3 causing the normalspeed motor to drive the basket counterclockwise, if it were not for thefact that the trailing edge of the opening in the cam simultaneouslypasses P1, so that it is no longer illuminated, thus causing LERI toclose and LER-2 to open, so that the basket is still driven clockwise.)The by-pass circuit through POR-1 to switch CW is simultaneously brokenby the opening of contacts POR-1. Contacts POR-4 are simultaneouslyclosed, completing a direct connection between L2 and POR, so that thesolenoid POR will remain energized regardless of the state of POT.Contacts POR-3 are also closed, but this has no immediate effect.

Further rotation of the cam will render photocell P4 conductive, butsince this is connected only to contact D of selector LA, while the armof LA is set at B, nothing happens.

Rotation of the cam next causes illumination of photocell P3, at 252,and:

(l) Triac LAT is rendered conductive, by completion of a circuit throughLA and P-3, thus energizing relay LAR.

(2) Contacts LAR-1 open, opening the circuit to the CCW drive controlM3, but this was already open, due to the opening of LER2.

(3) Contacts LAR-2 close, energizing the solenoid of the slow inch relaySIR. This has the following result:

(a) Contacts SIR-1 close, energizing clutch transformer 36 to causeengagement of a slow inch drive instead of the normal speed drive.

(b) Contacts SIR-2, open and SIR3 close, so that the slow CW controlinsetad of the normal clockwise control is connected to point S.

(c) Contacts SIR'4, normally closed, are opened and SIR5, normally open,are closed, connecting common point R to slow speed CCW control M2instead of the normal speed CCW control.

((1) Contacts SIR-6 close applying auxiliary brake 35 to further slowthe basket.

The basket is still driven clockwise, but now by the slow inch driveunder heavy braking.

The leading edge of the cam opening now again exposes P1, energizingLER, opening LER-1 and closing LER2. This time, however, POR-1 is stillheld open by the holding circuit through POR4, and POR2 is closed sothat the circuit through CW is broken and the one through CCW closed,and the basket is now driven CCW toward P3.

As soon, however, as the edge E which was, during CW rotation, thetrailing edge of the cam opening, passes P3, contacts LAR-1 open,breaking the CCW driving circuit. If, at the same time, P1 remainsilluminated, LER-1 is also open, both drives are cut off, and the basketis at rest in position to unload left.

If, on the other hand, the basket has travelled far enough so that theedge E of the cam opening obscures P1, LER-1 closes, and the basket isagain driven clockwise, until P1 is again illuminated, thus closingLER-1, opening LER-2 and cutting off the CW drive. If, at this time P3remains illuminated, LAR1 is also open and the basket is stopped.

If the basket has gone too far P3 is obscured, LAR-1 closes, and, sinceLER2 is closed, the CCW drive circuit is closed, and the basket isdriven counterclockwise.

This hunting continues until the basket comes to rest with both P1 andP3 illuminated and both driving circuits therefore broken.

If, after the lamps are turned on, the leading edge of the cam shouldpass P3 first, contacts LAR-1 and LAR2 would close, but nothing wouldhappen, since POR-2, POR-3, and LER-2 would be open. As soon as theleading edge of the cam subsequently passed P1, its trailing edge wouldpass P3, permitting contacts LAR-1 and LAR2 to close, so that thesituation would thereafter be the same as if P1 were the first photocellpassed by the leading edge of the cam after the lamps had been lighted.If the leading edge should pass P4 first, this would have no effect, asP4 is not connected during the unload left cycle. If the leading edgeshould pass P2 first, contacts POR1 would open and contacts POR-2 wouldclose, but this would have no immediate effect with contacts LER-2 openand contacts LER-1 closed. Similarly, closing of contacts POR-3 wouldhave no immediate effect with contacts LAR-2 open, but closing ofcontacts POR4 would keep POR energized. Subsequent exposure of P4 willhave no effect, for the reason already pointed out. Subsequent exposureof P3 will open contacts LAR-1, but this has no immediate effect sincecontacts LER2 are still open and contacts POR1 are now open.

Closing of contacts LAR-2 will, however, energize the solenoid of relaySIR, thus closing contacts SlR1 to shift the clutch to slow speed drive,shifting both the CW and CCW motor controls to slow speed, by operationof SIR-2, SIR-3, SIR4 and SIR-5, and applying the brake 35 by closingSIR-6. There will, however, be no change of direction, since LER1 isstill closed and LER2 is still open, so that the drive is stillclockwise.

When, however, the leading edge of the cam passes P1, contacts LER1 willopen and contacts LER2 will close, reversing the direction of rotation,whereupon the machine will hunt as hereinbefore described, until thebasket comes to rest at the desired location.

It will thus be seen that the basket must rotate through an arcsufficient for the leading edge of the cam to pass, while travellingclockwise, either from P1 to P3, or from P2 to P1, in either case morethan half a revolution, before hunting begins.

If the basket should be travelling counterclockwise when the spotselector is set to position B for unloading through the left handhousing door, the normally closed circuit through Q, LER1, CW, S, S andM4 will cause an immediate reversal unless the open section of the camhappens to be opposite P1. In that case reversal will occur as soon asthe open section of the cam has passed by P1. The cycle is then the sameas if the basket had originally been rotating clockwise.

When the basket is to be unloaded through the righthand door of thehousing, the spot selector pointer, and consequently the movable arms ofall the selector switches, are set at position D, and it will be seenfrom FIG. 9 that photocell P2 is then connected to LER, photocell P1 toPOR and P4 to LAR. With the switches thus positioned, the basket will bedriven counterclockwise until both POR and LAR have been energized,after which energization of LER will initiate hunting, until the basketcomes to rest with both photocells P1 and P2 illuminated.

When the machine is to be stopped with each cylinder door aligned with ahousing door, for loading, the selector 8 switches are set to positionC, and it will be seen that P2 is thereby connected to LER, and that P1is connected to both LAR and POR.

The operation is again essentially the same as before, except that PORis energized at the same time as LAR when the leading edge of the camfirst passes the photocell P1, and LER is then effective as soonthereafter as P2 is illuminated. The reason for this is that it is notnecessary to ensure a full rotation when spotting the basket forloading, since at that time there are no clothes in the basket whichneed to be bunched in a particular location.

Positions A and E on the selector switch are used to permit manualinching of the machine in counterclockwise and clockwise directionsrespectively.

It will, of course, be appreciated that the embodiment of applicantsinvention which has just been described has been given purely by way ofexample, and may be modified as to detail without thereby departing fromthe basic principles of the invention defined by the following claims.For example, the photocells and the lamps cooperating therewith could bereplaced by switches operated by physical contact with segments of thecam, or by magnetic switches actuated by the passage of cam segments.The triacs could be replaced by thyratrons, or any suitable gatingmeans. The entire circuit of FIG. 9 may, of course, be integrated into amore complex circuit for controlling the entire cycle of operations ofan automatic commercial laundry machine, such as a washer-extractor.

In the specific embodiment disclosed, the arc subtended by each door hasbeen given as 108a little less than /3 of a circle, and the preferredrange is to However, it will be appreciated that the minimum isdetermined simply by how small an opening you are prepared to acceptthesmaller the opening, the more inconvenient the machine is to load andunload. The maximum limit is determined by the fact that one edge of thedoor is in a 12 oclock position when the laundry is being unloaded, andthe other edge must then be in a position having a sufiicient horizontalcomponent to provide a surface over which the clothes can beconveniently slid in and out of the machine. In extreme cases the arc ofeach door may be as great as The invention may also be applied to apass-through laundry machine of the type commonly used in hospitals, inwhich dirty laundry is introduced into one end of the machine from adirty room and withdrawn from the other end of the machine in acleanroom, with the machine mounted in the wall between the two rooms. Inthat case both ends of the cylinder will be provided with a pair ofdoors, one into each compartment, and each end of the housing will beprovided with a pair of corresponding doors, or with a single door. Thepositions and arcuate dimensions of the doors at each end will be thesame as those of the doors at the single end illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and when there are two housing doors at each endthe spotting cycle will be essentially the same. The only differencewill be that when the basket is spotted for loading the doors at thedirty end will be opened, and when it is spotted in either position forunloading, a door at the clean end will be opened.

In certain pass-through machines, however, it is impractical to providetwo housing doors at each end and each housing end therefore has onlyone door. In that case, the cylinder must be spotted twice for loadingfrom the dirty side, bringing each cylinder door at the dirty end intoregistration once with the dirty side housing door which is at the leftas viewed from the dirty side. Similarly the cylinder must be spottedtwice for unloading from the clean side, bringing each cylinder door atthat end once into registration with the clean side housing door. Inthis case the cam opening will subtend and the photocells will bepositioned to stop the basket in any selected one of four positions. Forunloading, at the clean end, each cylinder door at the clean end will beregistered in turn with the housing door if that end, with the radialedge of the cylinder door nearest the partition aligned with the loweredge of the housing door, as shown in FIG. 10. For loading, at the dirtyend, each cylinder door at the dirty end will be registered in turn withthe housing door at that end, with the radial edge of the cylinder dooraligned with the vertical edge of the housing door, as shown in FIG. 11.The photocells P5, P6, P7, P8, will be positioned as shown in FIG. 12.

The basic circuit for such a machine as shown in FIG. 13, aside from thechanged individual connections of the photocells, operates essentiallyas the circuit of FIG. 9. It will, however, be noted that, forconvenience, a selector switch is provided at each end of the machine,and a transfer relay 100 is provided for switching the control of themachine from one selector switch to the other by breaking contacts100-A, 100-B, 100-C and closing contacts 100-D, 100E, 100-F. As shown inFIG. 13, switches PO-D, LE-D and LA-D perform the functions of PO, LE,LA from the dirty side and PO-K, LE-K and LA-K perform these functionsfrom the clean side. Since all inching is done counterclockwise (as seenfrom the end in question) separate CW and CCW switches are unnecessaryand their combined functions are approximated by V and V It will beappreciated that PO-D, LE-D, LA-D and V are ganged to act together, asare PO-K, LE-K, LA-K and V As disclosed, M3 and M4 are controls for anormal speed motor, M2 and M5 are controls for a separate slow speedmotor, and 36 controls a clutch between the slow speed motor and thedrive shaft so that When this clutch is engaged the shaft is driven atan inching speed even slower than the speed otherwise resulting fromconnection to the slow speed motor. It will be appreciated, however,that three separate motors might be provided, or a three speed clutchprovided to control a single motor. The choice is determined largely bythe relative costs of the various arrangements.

While, as a matter of convenience, when the machine is to be loaded andunloaded at the same end, two housing doors are provided at that end, itis not necessary to have two separate openings in the housing end. Oneopening may subtend an arc of about 240 (from about 8 oclock to 4oclock), and each housing door will then close one half of the opening.

In this arrangement, each cylinder opening and door may subtend an arcgreater than half the arc subtended by the single housing opening, andthis can be quite advantageous, since the larger the cylinder doors, theeasier it is to load and unload the cylinder. When one side of thecylinder is to be unloaded, the compartment wall will be spottedparallel to the edge of the housing opening at the eight oclockposition, with the opening in the cylinder compartment to be loadedextending from the eight oclock to the one or two oclock position, withboth housing doors open. Similarly, the opening in the other compartmentcan be spotted for unloading with the compartment wall parallel to theedge of the housing opening in the four oclock position and the cylinderopening extending to the ten or eleven oclock position, depending on thesize of the cylinder opening.

Either compartment may then be spotted for loading wherever convenientto facilitate the use of an automatic loading device, so long as theuseful portion of the opening in that compartment registers with someportion of the housing opening.

The circuitry will be similar to that of FIG. 9, except that sufiicientphotocells must be provided to provide four spotting positions insteadof three.

It will also be appreciated that while the illustrated embodiment of theinvention has been referred to as a laundry machine, it could also be adry-cleaning machine.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cleaning machine comprising a housing, a cylinder mounted torotate about a horizontal axis within said housing, a diametral axialpartition dividing said cylinder into two compartments, and access meanspermitting ma terial to be cleaned to be loaded into and removed fromsaid compartments, the improved access means which comprises a pair ofdoors in at least one end of said cylinder, each door affording accessinto one of said compartments and subtending an are substantiallygreater than but less than 145, each door having a first generallyradial edge spaced from a first generally radial edge of the otheropening by at least 70, and a second generally radial edge, the anglebetween said second radial edges being substantially bisected by saidpartition, said access means further comprising at least one door in atleast one end of said housing positioned to register with a door in saidcylinder when said partition is vertical with said second radial edgesuppermost.

2. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said second radialedges are substantially parallel to each other and said partition.

3. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the two doors insaid cylinder are substantially identical in their dimensions.

4. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 1 in which each door means insaid cylinder comprises a major portion hinged to the first edge of itsopening and a minor portion hinged to the second edge thereof.

5. In combination a cleaning machine as claimed in claim 1 and chutemeans movable between a loading position for delivering material to becleaned through said doors into said compartments and a distant positionclear of said doors permitting laundry to be unloaded through saiddoors.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said cylinder openingssubtend an arc of between and 7. In a cleaning machine comprising ahousing, a cylinder mounted to rotate about a horizontal axis withinsaid housing, a diametral axial partition dividing said cylinder intotwo compartments, and access means permitting ma terial to be cleaned tobe loaded into and removed from said compartments, the improved accessmeans which comprises a pair of doors in one end of said cylinder, oneof which affords access to each compartment, and a pair of doors in oneend of said housing, each housing door having a lower radial edge whichslopes downwardly away from the axis of said cylinder, said doors beingso positioned that one compartment door is in registration with onehousing door with said partition parallel to the lower radial edge ofsaid one housing door, and the other compartment door is in registrationwith the other housing door with said partition parallel to the lowerradial edge of said other housing door.

8. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 7 in which said pair ofcompartment doors is in registration with said pair of housing doorswith said partition vertical.

9. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 8 comprising a pair of housingdoors and a pair of cylinder doors at each end of said housing andcylinder respectively.

10. In a cleaning machine comprising a cylinder having a transverse wallat each end and mounted to rotate about a horizontal axis, drive controlmeans for causing said cylinder to be rotated in either of twodirections, an axial partition dividing said cylinder into twocompartments, and a housing enclosing said cylinder, the improve mentcomprising in combination:

a pair of doors in one end wall of said cylinder, one

door opening into each compartment,

a pair of doors in the corresponding end of said housing, said housingand cylinder doors being so positioned with respect to each other thatat least one cylinder door is aligned with a housing door in each of aplurality of unloading positions of said cylinder doors,

cylinder door position indicating means mounted to rotate with saidcylinder,

a plurality of detector means comprising pairs which define the limitsbetween which said indicating means must be located whenever a cylinderdoor occupies any one of said unloading positions, and being adapted toemit a signal when said indicating means reaches one of said limits,

and selector means for selectively connecting to said drive controlmeans the pair of detector means defining the limits for any givenunloading position so that the emission of a signal by either one ofsaid connected pair of detector means causes a reversal in the directionin which said cylinder is driven, thus causing hunting of saidindicating means between the limits at which said connected pair ofdetector means are located, until the simultaneous emission of signalsby both of said connected pair of detecting means causes cessation ofsaid drive.

11. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 10, in which said drive meansis capable of driving said cylinder at a plurality of speeds, one slowerthan the other, and the connection completed, when said selector meansconnects a pair of said detector means to said drive means, causes saidcylinder to be driven at said slower speed.

12. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 10 comprising means fordelaying completion of said connections between said selected pair ofdetector means and said control means until said cylinder has completedmore than half of a revolution in a selected direction.

13. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 12 in which said selectormeans comprises means for connecting a third detector means to controlthe connection between said selected pair of detector means and saiddrive means to prevent completion of said last mentioned connectionuntil said indicating means has passed both said third detector meansand at least one detector means of said selected pair.

14. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 12 in which each housing doorhas a lower radial edge which slopes downwardly away from the axis ofsaid cylinder, said selector means has two settings in each of whichsaid detector means are connected to stop the cylinder with saidpartition parallel to one of said lower edges, and in each setting saidselector means completes a connection to said drive means causing saidcylinder to be driven during said more than half of a revolution in adirection such that the cylinder door being aligned with a housing doorpasses through its lowermost position less than half a revolution beforehunting begins.

15. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 10 in which the pair ofcylinder doors may be aligned with the pair of doors in the housing withsaid partition vertical, said detector means comprise a pair definingthe limits between which said indicating means must be located when saidcylinder doors occupy said loading position, and said selector means iscapable of connecting said last mentioned pair of detector means toactuate said drive control means in the same manner as either of saidother pairs of detecting means.

16. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 10 comprising identical setsof cylinder and housing doors at each end of the machine.

17. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 10 in which said detectormeans comprise photocells.

18. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 10 in which said detectormeans comprise switches and said indicating means is a cam positioned tooperate said switches.

19. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 10 in which said selectormeans comprises a plurality of selector switches and transistor triodeshaving their control electrodes connected in series with one of saidswitches and with said detector means.

20. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 10in which said selectormeans comprises a plurality of selector switches and a plurality ofthyratrons, each having its control electrode connected in series withone of said switches and with said detector means.

21. In a cleaning machine comprising a cylinder having a transverse wallat each end and mounted to rotate about a horizontal axis, drive controlmeans for causing said cylinder to be rotated in either of twodirections, an axial partition dividing said cylinder into twocompartments, and a housing enclosing said cylinder, the improvementcomprising in combination:

a pair of doors in at least one end Wall of said cylinder,

one door opening into each compartment,

at least one door in said housing at each end thereof adjacent acylinder end provided with a door, said housing and cylinder doors beingso positioned with respect to each other that at least one cylinder dooris aligned with a housing door in each of a plurality of unloadingpositions of said cylinder doors,

cylinder door position indicating means mounted to rotate with saidcylinder,

a plurality of detector means comprising pairs which define the limitsbetween which said indicating means must be located whenever a cylinderdoor occupies any one of said unloading positions, and being adapted toemit a signal when said indicating means reaches one of said limits,

and selector means for selectively connecting to said drive controlmeans the pair of detector means defining the limits for any givenunloading position so that the emission of a signal by either one ofsaid connected pair of detector means causes a reversal in the directionin which said cylinder is driven, thus causing hunting of saidindicating means between the limits at which said connected pair ofdetector means are located, until the simultaneous emission of signalsby both of said connected pair of detecting means causes cessation ofsaid drive.

22. In a cleaning machine comprising a housing, a cylinder mounted torotate about a horizontal axis within said housing, a diametral axialpartition dividing said cylinder into two compartments, and access meanspermitting material to be cleaned to be loaded into and removed fromsaid compartments, the improved access means which comprises a pair ofdoors in each end of said cylinder, one of which affords access to eachcompartment, and one door in each end of said housing, each housing doorhaving a lower radial edge which slopes downwardly away from the axis ofsaid cylinder, said doors being so positioned that each compartment doorat one end registers with the housing door at that end with saidpartition vertical, and that each compartment door at the other endregisters with the housing door at the other end with said partitionparallel to the lower radial edge of said last mentioned housing door.

23. In a cleaning machine comprising a housing, a cylinder mounted torotate about a horizontal axis in said housing, a diametral axialpartition dividing said cylinder into two compartments, and access meanspermitting material to be cleaned to be loaded into and removed fromsaid compartments, the improved access means which comprises door meansin at least one end of said cylinder and door means in at least one endof said housing transverse to said cylinder axis, said door means beingso positioned that at least one cylinder door will register with atleast one housing door with said partition vertical, and at least onecylinder door will register with at least one housing door with saidpartition more nearly horizontal than vertical and slanting downwardfrom the axis of said cylinder toward the radially outermost edge ofsaid door.

24. In a cleaning machine comprising a housing, a cylinder mounted torotate about a horizontal axis in said housing, a diametral axialpartition dividing said cylinder into two compartments, and access meanspermitting material to be cleaned to be loaded into and removed fromsaid compartments, the improved access means which comprises a separatedoor in said cylinder leading to each compartment and door means in atleast one end of said housing transverse to said cylinder axis, saidcylinder doors and housing door means being so positioned that eachcylinder door may be aligned with door means in said housing in aloading position with said partition more nearly vertical thanhorizontal, and in unloading position with said partition more nearlyhorizontal than vertical.

25. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 24 in which both cylinderdoors may be simultaneously aligned in said loading position with doormeans in said housing.

26. A cleaning machine as claimed in claim 24 comprising means forautomatically stopping said cylinder with any selected cylinder door inalignment with a housing door.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1951 Buss 68-143 5/ 1960Gerlach 68210 X 10/1960 Heft et al 68-143 X 5/1967 Starr et a1. 68-210US. Cl. X.R.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,529,450 Dated September 22,1970

Invent fls) NORVIN L. PELLERIN It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

In the heading insert:

-assignor to Pellerin Milnor Corporation, New Orleans,

Louisiana-- SIGNED Mb .QE'AEED NV 1 2m (SEAL) Am WW I. :2 I. v I A...Officur eomissiom of ram FORM PO-IOSO (10-69) uscoMM-oc scan-Pee Q U.SGOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: IIII 0-!ll-8ll

